Morning Playoff Victory Catapults Former Also-ran Into Limelight

July 18, 1989|By CHARLIE DENN Staff Writer

JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — His has been the career of a golfer you would easily call an also-ran: good, but never quite good enough.

That is the way the career sheet used to read on Mike Donald. Tenth year on the pro tour, no career victories. He won enough money to live a good lifestyle, played some very respectable golf and simply waited for a big moment he was never quite sure would happen.

But Monday morning under an overcast sky and on a golf course still very damp from the previous day's soaking rains, Mike Donald wasted little time in going to the head of the class at the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic.

He birdied the first playoff hole of the day to defeat Tim Simpson in a sudden-death struggle on Kingsmill's River Course. The playoff started Sunday evening but was halted after three holes because of darkness.

He had promised a victory dance after he won. Sunday evening, with darkness closing in and a 12-foot birdie putt for victory on No. 18 awaiting his deft touch, Donald had two-stepped with anticipation when he hit what he thought was the winner. But the putt slid past on the left side of the cup.

"A lot of people thought that putt was in the hole,' said Donald, "and I was one of them."

Monday, there was no victory jig. Donald merely knifed his arm through the air in a gesture of triumph, perhaps his way of finally shattering the barrier between make-believe and reality.

"I just tried to take care of my own business," said Donald of his performance in the playoff. "You know, it's funny now, but I've always thought this was a good course for me because it's not real long.

"But to shoot a 65 here on the last day is a little bit out of character for me."

Donald, who had rounds of 67-66-70-65 for a 72-hole score of 268, went from one extreme to the other as he prepared for the additional playoff Monday.

"No matter what happened today (Monday), I really felt like I had won the battle yesterday," said Donald. "I played some great golf down the stretch and I was very proud of that. I made a five-footer on 18 with the pressure really on.

"I felt great with the way I handled myself."

Yet that effort did nothing to diminish Donald's desire to win his first PGA Tour event. He had been as close as second before, losing in a playoff to Jim Booros at the Deposit Guaranty earlier this year in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Nor did he want to take a chance of sleeping through his tee time. So he arranged for wake-up calls from friends at 7, 7:05, 7:10 and 7:15.

"Man, I had everybody calling me," said Donald. "I wasn't going to oversleep."

Donald got to the course at 7:40, had some breakfast and then headed out to the practice tee. He normally takes an hour to warm up, but after 35 minutes he felt antsy.

"Frankly, I was bored," said Donald. "I saw no reason to sit around, so I said let's ring the bell."

With the threat of additional rain very real, the playoff started 10 minutes before the scheduled 9 a.m. tee time. In fact, it was over just when it should have been starting.

That was a tribute to Donald's readiness. Simpson hit first and drove roughly 260 yards down the middle. Donald followed with a shot similar in distance but more to the left side of the fairway.

But Donald's second shot was the killer. From 166 yards away, he blasted a 7-iron within eight feet of the hole. Simpson, meanwhile, lagged his shot, also with a 7-iron, about 50 feet short of the pin.

"I was happy to have hit first on the second shot," said Donald. "That really put the pressure on Tim when I hit it so close."

Simpson faced a long, uphill putt for his birdie try. He hit the ball well but left it five feet short.

At that point, Donald only had to knock home his putt and the tournament was over. He studied it cautiously but hit the ball firmly into the cup.

"I wanted to shut the door," said Donald, "so I was going for the birdie. But Tim didn't exactly have a gimme for his par putt, so I actually felt I had two shots out of here."

Such advance planning was unnecessary. And suddenly Mike Donald's moment, the one he had waited for all these years, was here.

"It was a long wait," said Donald. "I've struggled a lot in the past few years. It's been a tough go some of the time."

True enough. But that makes the ride from also-ran to champion that much sweeter in the end.